NBN Co signs NT, SA construction deals

The National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) announced it has signed construction contracts for the Northern Territory and South Australia, the last states and territories to be without such agreements.

The National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) announced it has signed construction contracts for the Northern Territory and South Australia, the last states and territories to be without such agreements.

Syntheo, a joint venture between Lend Lease Group and Service Stream, has won a two-year, $141 million contract to build the NBN in SA and NT, with the option to extend the agreement for another two years, which would bring the estimated worth of the deal up to $341 million. NBN Co said the agreement had the same terms as those negotiated with contractors for other sections of the country.

"This contract completes the picture for the NBN as we are now in a position to start rolling out the National Broadband Network in every state and territory across Australia," NBN Co head of construction, Dan Flemming, said in a statement.

"In fact, work in South Australia and the NT is already underway. We engaged contractors on a temporary basis for on-site design and other preliminary site works so Syntheo can hit the ground running."

NBN Co said that design and preliminary works were underway in the Darwin and Adelaide suburbs of Modbury and Prospect, with the design and construction work to begin for 85,000 premises over the next 12 months. The average time from the start of works at a site to the activation of first services is around 12 months, according to the company.